"Tuberculosis Treatment"

I was staying at a private rehabilitation centre when one of the residents tested positive for Tuberculosis. Infection control nurses advised that all the residents and staff that had come into contact with the affected resident should also be tested for TB. Whilst all the other residents and staff tested negative, I was informed that my blood test results were abnormal. After re-visiting the hospital the Consultant confirmed that I had contracted TB, but it wasn't 'active'. The TB virus was in my system but was dormant, meaning I wasn't infectious but would require treatment to stop the virus becoming active and me becoming quite ill. I would need a three month course of antibiotics, which themselves could have side effects. I was referred to the care of a specialist TB nurse, who went through the treatment and possible side effects. She impressed on me that if I had any worries at any time just to give her a call and gave me a mobile number to contact her with. The nurse was very good in explaining how the treatment worked, the importance of completing all of it and what it would mean for me in the future.

When I started taking the tablets, I found that the side effects were almost unnoticeable other than a little bit of nausea at first and the colour of body fluids would be different. On the first home visit at the start of the treatment, the nurse explained that this was normal and was nothing to worry about. She made numerous home visits throughout my course of treatment to make sure everything was OK and always re-iterated to call her if there was a problem.

I have now completed the treatment and I feel fine. Overall my experience with all of the TB team especially the nurse, was very good. Everything was explained to me at every stage (this was particularly important as the news I had TB was a little worrying at first) and the nurse closely monitored and supported me throughout the antibiotic treatment.